The Scientific Method
by Silver345
Summary: Lucas is more confused than ever about how he feels. But it turns out all he needs to help him sort it out is a more scientific approach and a good friend. Smackle/Lucas Friendship


I really like Lucas and Smackle's relationship, not exactly romantically, but as friends. I feel like they should flesh it out a little if theres enough time for it. Theres a line from Girl Meet New Years, but no real spoilers I don't think.

On a different note, who else believes that our poor cowboy deserves more episodes centered around him?! This kid is so messed up and no one even cares guys! He's hiding who he used to be and who knows how much of that he still is but everyone tells him he's Mr. Perfect. He's got some anger issues to deal with. He's got a seemingly bad relationship with some of his family, I mean, his Pappy Joe told him he was a disgrace to the family for crying out loud! So join me in writing more Lucas centric fics to show our support! Thank you! I'm calling this the Cowboy Committee for anyone who cares... wow, got a little rant-y, my bad.

Enjoy!

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She was just starting her trek to the subway from Riley Matthew's study party at her apartment when she heard familiar clumping footsteps hurrying after her, followed by a 'Wait for me!' Turning her head 135 degrees to the right, she saw him trotting towards her, struggling to put a jacket on at the same time. She stopped and let him catch up to her, but before he could say anything else, she cut him off.

"Lucas, for what reason is it so difficult for you to comprehend that I belong to Farkle and your pursuit is fruitless?" She said in a mechanical voice. He threw his head back in exasperation as he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets.

"I just wanted to know if I could walk with you, Smackle! What's the point of walking separately if we're twenty feet away from each other on an empty sidewalk, and we live a street away from each other?" He stared down at her, his eyebrows furrowed into a slight frown over his green eyes. Scientifically perfect green eyes as she observed. Just the right mixture of cyan and yellow on the CMYK scale. She blinked before turning back down the sidewalk and continuing, not waiting to see if he would follow.

"Very well. You are correct. There is no logical reason for us to walk separately." She heard him muttering 'Thank you' under his breath, his mild annoyance evident. Her eyebrow twitched in confusion as she wondered why her friendship with him was so strained, he had attempted mimicking the behaviors of his closest friends in an attempt to speed their relationship in strength. So, breaking the silence that had stretched out long enough that she could assume it could be classified as awkward, she asked him.

"Why is our friendship as weak as it is?" She could see him physically jump at her unexpected question from the corner of her eye. He looked down at her in confusion.

"Uh, what do you mean?" Without looking at him, she explained.

"We spend relative amounts of time together with other friends, we speak to each other, and I have tried many strategies in an attempt to befriend you, all of which have failed. It is tiring on my nerves but I continue trying because Farkle has expressed importance in the detail that I become friends with all of his own friends. Yet, despite my countless attempts, there still remains what appears to be animosity between us." His eyebrows lifted high on his forehead as he tried to process the long stream of words.

"How do you figure that?" She finally looked up at him with a quizzical expression on her face.

"Have you not noticed it also?" He scratched the back of his neck and stared back at her with an equally confused expression.

"Sorry, but no. I mean, we're really awkward, but theres no… 'animosity' as you put it. Not as far as I can see at least. Why, have I been mean to you or gotten angry or something?" Smackle turned her vision back to the sidewalk in front of her as she stepped off the curb into the street to cross.

"Not in any extreme case. It is only whenever I attempt to extend friendly attitude, you seem annoyed or dismissive." The crease between his eyebrows darkened as he tried to understand to no avail.

"…What is it you're doing that makes me do that?" She stepped onto the next curb.

"I have studied your close friends to see what behaviors they exhibit so that I could replicate them." She stopped there as if her meaning was perfectly clear.

"Uh, Smackle, you're gonna have to dumb it down for me a little." She sighed.

"I have been copying traits I see in Riley and Maya since they are such good friends of yours and tried to combine them for optimum friendship speed." He blinked quickly and his eyebrows almost merged into his hairline with his shock.

"You've been…"

"Imitating Riley and Maya, yes. I have attempted to harness the sweetness and awkwardness of Riley's interactions as well as the straightforward and mildly mocking behavior of Maya's tactics and combine them into one so that we could become friends almost instantaneously. Although I do find your physical being is scientifically perfect, and I am embarrassed to say that it _does_ distract me from time to time, I merely wish to become your friend, you need not believe that there is anything more than that. I have been unable to complete my original objective effectively if you were not already unaware." Lucas let a long breath go, watching the water become mist in the cold air. He ran a hand through his hair.

"That's what that was? Wow, I thought you were serious." He breathed a mildly relieved sigh. He was already struggling with whatever his feelings for the blonde and the brunette, he was glad he didn't have to worry about Smackle's feeling as well.

"Yes, joking. I had hoped my voice would betray the fact but my calculations were incorrect I suppose." Lucas laughed lightly.

"Smackle, I hate to break it to you, but you're voice doesn't change much." She nodded and cracked a hint of a smile.

"I have been told, I am working on it. I apologize if I caused any addition to your 'girl' stress." After a moment, Lucas' smile faded back into misunderstanding.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You're confusion in regards to Riley and Maya. The answer is quite obvious to me, but Farkle told me not to interfere." Lucas blinked at the girl and his jaw dropped slightly.

"How do you know what I'm supposed to do? Do you even know the problem?" Smackle nodded as they skipped down the stairs into the subway station, swiping their cards before continuing through to their subway stop.

"Though I haven't been told in detail what the issue is, I can read the tension between the three of you quite easily. I believe I know exactly how you and Riley feel, though I'm not completely sure of Maya's emotions, she's extremely good at masking them though she can not help the more physical reactions." He stared down at her with a pleading look and when the dark haired girl glanced up at him, she frowned slightly.

"I see you have a question?" He nodded slowly.

"How… how can you tell? How do you know how I feel when I don't even know myself?" She tugged on her scarf when the subway came and they boarded, managing to find seats next to each other.

"Its actually quite obvious if one knows what to look for. As a child I wanted to understand what I was experiencing, though my feelings were and remain a mystery to me. I have some comprehension of emotions and their signs, even if it is difficult for me to know my own. Some times it is difficult to know ones own emotions because as humans we often repress or misconstrue them, correct?" Lucas could only stare at her with wide eyes.

"If… If you wanted to explain my whole situation to me through you're eyes, I wouldn't stop you." Smackle looked at him for a moment and she saw confirmation in his eyes. He really felt that he needed this. So, she cleared her throat and began.

"The first time I met you, it was evident that Riley was enamored with you, the idea of you, and your looks. This observation still rings true to some degree, however she has matured some since then and therefore, so has her affections. I believe that Maya's feelings were always faintly present, but they have recently become strong. The fact that she has allowed herself to show that she feels anything for you at all shows that she knows that what she feels is very strong indeed." Lucas' eyes were trained on the back of the seat in front of him and he nodded slowly, wringing his hands in his lap.

"So, what does that mean for me?" The female genius paused, pursing her lips together.

"I am… not sure it would be good for me to answer that." His gaze snapped to her face.

"Why not?! You can't just tell me you know what I feel and not tell me!" She shook her head.

"Once an idea has been shared, the idea can never be removed. In many cases, it can be rejected, but in such a case where you are desperate for an answer that makes sense, you will accept it and agree with it."

"And that's a bad thing?"  
"It is… neutral. I want to be sure that you are looking over what I tell you with a critical eye. I am not you, and therefore cannot tell you what you feel. I can explain what I believe you feel from observation, but it does not mean I am correct. Humans are complex, there are many reasons why you might show symptoms of one thing, while in reality you might feel the exact opposite. Do you understand?"

"So… You want to make sure that I'm not agreeing with what you say immediately just because it's the first answer that makes any sense?" She nodded and a hint of a smile appeared on her face.

"Precisely." The former Texan took a moment to think. What she said made sense, but he would like to think he could draw his own conclusions and separate them from what Smackle said. After a few minutes, he looked down at Smackle and asked her to tell him. She folded her hands in her lap.

"Out of all the members of the group, you have changed the most. The day I met you, I could see that you had feelings only for Riley as could be expected. But what I suspect is that at this time, you enjoyed being liked more than you actually liked Riley. As time went on, I believe you're feeling for her only grew in sincerity though I feel you did more for the fact that that was what you were supposed to feel rather than what you actually felt. Despite this, there has always been something about Maya that intrigued you, excited you, and drew you to her. It is understandable, she has a magnetic personality if I recall the term correctly. Through time, Riley and Maya have always been important to you but you still cannot decipher how it is that you like each of them, for it is in two different ways. Are you understanding?" Lucas nodded slowly and sighed.

"Yeah, its just a lot to take in, its weird how familiar this sounds. You can keep going."

"As I was saying, you like them both, but differently. Now for the physical signs. When you had obvious feelings for Riley, you were always nervous, your voice was unsteady and you're smile was always bright and a bit 'goofy' as I have heard the term used. That has gradually faded away; you appear much more comfortable around her and though it is obvious that you are close, I don't believe that you like her in a romantic way anymore." Smackle paused and looked over at him.

"I understand if you desire me to stop here, I do not wish to overwhelm you," she said as the subway screeched to a halt at their stop. He shook his head.

"No, I think I need to understand how I feel about Maya more than I need to understand how I feel about Riley."

"Please remember to—"

"I know, I'm not taking your observations as absolute truth, I'm thinking about it. But if I'm… repressing something for Maya I think the way I physically react probably will show the most, don't you think?" Smackle's slight grin reappeared as she stood up and walked towards the doors of the subway, Lucas close behind. As they climbed the stairs, she began again.

"From what I see, your reaction to Maya is… more intense than it is or ever has been to Riley. It is understandable however, Maya is a more intense person. But when you look at her, your speech is fluid, you are confident and you seem more… it is difficult to explain…" she said, her eyebrows furrowed. Lucas continued to look at her and she met his gaze.

"Try?" he asked hopefully.

"With Maya… you know exactly how your dynamic functions. You play your 'game' as you two refer to it. It works perfectly for you and her, while with Riley you couldn't fall into quite the same pattern. When you went on a date with her, your rhythm was thrown out of balance." Lucas gnawed the inside of his cheek.

"Couldn't that be the relationship with any friend? Do I really _like_ either of them like that or what?" Smackle held up a hand to stop him.

"I was not finished. When it comes to Maya, your physical reactions are more extensive. Along with what I have already described, when she enters the room your pupils dilate, you hold your breath for a short period of time, and your heart rate increases, though I supposed these symptoms are either misunderstood or unnoticed."

"How did you…"

"When I first received the suspicion of your feelings, I observed. I watched your eyes and I heard it when your breath hitched momentarily. You breathe quite loudly for your information. And as for your heart, I have learned to feel vibrations and notice the small movements the body takes on when one's heart rate changes. If you are sitting on the same couch as me, I would know if your heart beat quickened." He raised an eyebrow at her before looking straight ahead again and smiling softly.

"Who's the creepy creep creep now?" She responded with a snort of a laugh and he looked down at her with wide eyes.

"Did… did you just laugh?! At something I said?!" he asked frantically. The smile on her face wiped away immediately and her face became stoic once again, but he could see the mild fear dancing behind her eyes.

"No. Of course not." She stared at him and his face split into a slow grin. He shook his head and looked off into the night above him.

"You have a cute laugh, Smackle." He saw out of the corner of his eye when she stiffened but a pink blush dusted across her cheeks.

"It is never going to happen, Lucas, you should give up. My heart belongs to Farkle." He laughed a clear happy laugh that echoed down the street.

"Thanks for helping me sort some of that out, Smackle. I really appreciate it. Emotions are just so… I don't even know." She nodded.

"I understand. Humanity is a difficult thing to possess."

"Its good that we have people like you to explain it to us simple folk though, right?" He glanced down at her, a silly smile crookedly across his face. She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I am not interested, Lucas. I am sorry, but you must stop this behavior." He laughed once again as they stopped at the door of the girl's house.

"Now that I understand what this is, I don't think it'll be so hard for us to be friends, hm?" He grinned widely when she shook her head no.

"I think it will be much easier. I shall update you if I receive more insight into your emotions." She turned and stepped into her house.

"Goodnight, Lucas."

"'Night, Smackle." She heard his thick soled boots clomping away as he walked the block down to his own house. And she smiled a true smile. She now realized that close friendships were formed when each party acted like their true selves. And if this were the case, she believed this would be the start of a wonderful friendship.

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I'm a creepy creep creep, you're a creepy creep creep, we're all creepy creep creeps... I don't even know, I'm really tired today...

Drop a review to tell me how I did, please!


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